FastSpring

Last year, our first survey on the state of D2C caught the gaming industry standing right at the edge of a shift in monetization strategy. This year, the shift already happened. D2C is not an experiment or an edge play anymore. Download the 2026 Report: buff.ly/HWL3jeA

A few takeaways for publishers: -Unless you’re near the top of the charts, app store discovery rarely drives growth. Your own marketing does. -Expect a patchwork of rules that varies by country, not one global program. -The goal on the web is more than one transaction.

On episode 49 of Growth Stage, David traces how that gatekeeping power moved from carriers to device makers, and makes the case for why publishers who understand the opening happening now will have a structural advantage. It’s building a habit of players buying from you directly.

Before Apple Maps or Google Maps existed, our CMO, David Vogelpohl paid $99 for a Garmin GPS app on his first iPhone. People bought Palm Pilot apps years before app stores existed, so what has changed for mobile commerce? Watch to learn more: buff.ly/wyXv30X

🚀 Payments confirm in seconds, so you can fulfill right away. It works on desktop and mobile, in USD or CNY. If you sell software, AI tools, games or other digital products, you can turn on Alipay today with no developer work.

-Subscriptions renew automatically, the same way they do in your other markets. -You don’t need an Alipay merchant account, because we’re the merchant of record. -Buyers approve payment in an app they already trust, with no card numbers or billing forms.

Most buyers in China would rather pay with a digital wallet than a card. Alipay alone reaches more than 1 billion users. Until now, getting auto-renewing payments on Alipay usually meant applying for a merchant account or signing with a payment processor in China.

Your subscription has a China problem. Buyers in China sign up, they pay once, and then the renewal never comes. That isn’t churn. Your checkout just can’t charge them again. We now support auto-recurring payments on Alipay: buff.ly/Lym27mH

On Monday evening, we set sail in San Francisco with some of the best people in gaming for our D2Sea Yacht Party, co-hosted with two & a half gamers! Great conversations about D2C, innovations in UA & community, and a skyline that did not disappoint. Thanks to all who joined us!

Your most valuable players are already gathered in one place. Most publishers are only just beginning to sell to them there. Discord. Read more on how mobile publishers can best optimize for revenue in this article from @pgbiz buff.ly/L8MBRe9

Wherever you are today, the path to 50%+ is well marked. Read the full breakdown, starting off with a review of which games are the best fit for D2C: buff.ly/reohfHL

50%+: The fully integrated playbook. A strong steering strategy, creator programs, retargeting, exclusive offers, and live ops all working together to keep players coming back. Simply: D2C success isn’t about the web store alone. It’s about how your GTM engine maturity.

0-20%: The store is live, but barely anyone knows it exists. Web store links are buried in menus, little promotion, no retargeting or email. 20-50%: D2C is a real channel now. Prominent steering, active social and Discord promotion, targeted VIP offers, early creator rewards.

Here’s the part most miss: launching a web store doesn’t get you there on its own. Your web store is only as strong as the engine driving players to it. Let's take a look...

Add in a packed Hivemind mixer on Monday night and a steady stream of great conversations at our booth, and it’s been a fantastic start in Helsinki. We’re here all day today for Day 2. If you want to talk D2C monetization for your game, come find us at the booth!

Day 1 at Pocket Gamer Connects Nordics did not disappoint. Jeremy Waxman took the stage to break down how to prevent D2C from wrecking your in-game economy, and Cédric Maisonnier joined the Webstore Wizardry panel on the business case for reallocating growth toward D2C.